Sparing the Rod
by Kasimyer Kore
Summary: Blacksmith Hiro Nagasaki never thought he would become a Mikawa warrior. However, he finds new talent in himself and maybe even a friend in the process.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Father-Figure

"Let's get this clear! I am not anyone's dad, ok? Don't you dare call me FATHER!"

Hiro knew full well that he meant what he said. This was the second time he accidentally let 'Dad' slip out, and there was no sign of any warm feeling, no looking back as if unsure of himself, or anything in his eyes that would suggest that deep down inside he wanted a son. He thought he would get something out of Maigoichi; a smile, a nod of approval, anything, but so far all he received was routine scolding and the occasional 'that'll do for now' as if, at that very moment, he would never amount to anything in life, but this was the farthest he can improve on in the time being.

Hiro never really wanted to be a warrior. After all, his passion was in the making of the weapons themselves; the craftsmanship that went in to making a sword or a spear was absolutely fascinating and his heart ached to put in the tender, loving care that is absolutely necessary in making quality products. His father, however, had no desire to appease him of his life-long dream. He was going to become a warrior and bring honor to the Nagasaki family. To do this, though, he had to spend 12 painful months with a man who cared nothing about him, his family, or whatever his dreams may be. Hiro became a chore, and Maigoichi Saika had to complete this chore to get the earnings of a lifetime, not to mention countless favors from his father who was somewhat of a friend.

"Forgive me, Lord Saika, I didn't mean to…"

"And let's get one MORE thing straight. I am not anyone's lord either! I hate the whole idea of being one and don't plan on leading any clans, nor following them, understand? I'm just calling in a favor from an old acquaintance of mine, and YOU happen to be worst of it."

Only the first few days and already Hiro had it in for himself. What had he done to be put in such an awkward position? At least he wouldn't be at this man's mercy for very long. The Mikawa people would treat him with respect. He didn't even know why he needed Maigoichi to be accepted into a well-reputable clan.

Saika took his musket and raised it to his shoulders until the back nearly touched his right shoulder. He paused and narrowed his left eye.

"Now, in order to shoot this thing well, you have to be completely calm and collected. Aim carefully and don't tremble. Ah, you'll get the hang of it." and he fired the musket; the bullet stopped upon a bird's chest in mid-flight, and it dropped to the ground with its head toward the clouds as if saying a fond farewell.

Hiro followed, raising his musket to his shoulders slowly and steadily. Saika chuckled, so obviously he was doing something wrong, but Hiro didn't pay attention. This shot would show some promise; he could tell because he finally wasn't trembling as much as he used to. Maybe he was getting a hang of this whole shooting thing after all. He narrowed his left eye and took aim. This would be the moment of proof, or aching pain, as Hiro soon found. His bullet flew into the clouds as if carelessly thrown away, and the musket had kicked back with such a recoil that Hiro would be feeling for weeks. He grabbed his shoulder and kneeled to the ground. Saika's chuckle grew into a laugh and he walked on.

"There's still much you have to learn, kid. But don't worry, you'll be ready for Mikawa training when we get there. They'll teach you a thing or two. Just don't embarrass me, ok?"

Hiro looked up at the back of his head. What if the bullet had hit right through that pretty hair of his? He lifted his gun with his left hand, no harm meant, but the anger had consumed him just enough to think about the possibility.

"Yeah, that'll do for now."

Pow.


	2. Mingling With the Mikawa

Chapter two: Mingling with the Mikawa

Ueda was a very warm and friendly place. There were all sorts of good smells coming from the local food vendors, and almost every day was a festival at the marketplace. These were people who were proud of their heritage and culture which was evident in all their songs and stories shared frequently in public plazas. Hiro loved the place, and he was very content with the idea of staying there permanently and becoming a part of this extended family. After all, there was some Mikawa blood in him somewhere. But first, a daunting task approached him; Saika was going to ruin everything about his quaint, happy town as long as his training would last. There were still a few months until the final tests.

"Alright, kid. Your lesson today is simple. Women."

Hiro gulped. Saika wrapped his arm around him, pulled his face closer and whispered,

"Now, don't try to hide it from me. I know you like 'em. I mean, unless..." His arm slid slightly downward and pulled Hiro even closer, but he cringed and pulled away.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. You'll be alright, kid. Just follow my lead," he said as he took Hiro further into the main square.

Women were not on Hiro's mind. In fact, he had passed on the opportunity to choose a wife from the noble Ito family that Hiro had the privilege of growing up with. However, his journey to become a warrior seemed so much more adventuresome. He would actually get to travel and live somewhere else for a while, which he couldn't have done towing a wife and children. Women are sly, beautiful, and binding creatures who have nothing better to do than to care for the next generation and prepare a meal at the end of the day.

Saika began, "Women are amazing, beautiful creatures that need a man to... You know, take care of them and care for their emotional needs."

Well, at least they agreed on the 'beautiful' part.

"You have to know how to play with their weak-spots."

A woman was about to cross his path carrying a sack full of items from the marketplace. Her soft and shiny black hair was tossed and pulled up into a bun on top of her head and she wore a casual green kimono with colorful flowers sprung about carelessly. There was even a sakura flower on her hair. Saika reached out an arm that wrapped around her fair and daintily small waist. He pulled her close and gently took her left hand in his right as if about to dance.

"You see, beautiful women love to take an evening out to dance across an open floor for the whole town to see what a catch she really is."

Regardless of the awkward situation that the girl was in, what with becoming all of a sudden very close to a total stranger, she truly enjoyed the attention although she pretended to be annoyed. Hiro thought that he might actually get to understand how women think, and that although they may seem to hate the forward approach, they may actually enjoy...

Saika immediately fell to the ground, dumbfounded. Hiro looked at the young lady strutting away and then at Saika staring up at him from the dust. His left cheek was red, and from the looks of it, even a delicate flower can overpower a cocky gun-slinger no matter how loaded his skills with women may seem. Now, there was an opportunity to get even.

"Alright, I get the point. If she slaps you and throws you straight to the ground, she must be begging for more. Well, then, I suppose I might just go run off after her and try again…"

Before Hiro was about to finish his sentence, Saika jumped up from the ground and wagged his pointer finger at him.

"Don't you dare!" He straightened up. "She has to come back and get you!" emphasis was on the 'you' part of his sentence. "She'll come running back, you'll see."

Hiro rolled his eyes and sighed. "Not to be disrespectful, but aren't we supposed to get on with my training? I've been practicing my target shooting and…"

"Ah yes, well she can just find me walking around town for the next few months if she really wanted," emphasis on the 'really' this time. He threw an arm around Hiro. "My little boy wants to go shooting his little gun, well! That's what we will go and do then. Back to the outskirts of town!"

Despite his hatred for being treated like a child, Hiro had no complaints. After all this wasted time, finally something productive was being done. However, Saika still had his head in the clouds. He stopped dead in his footsteps, making Hiro slam on his breaks to avoid a collision.

"What now? Saika, if this is another side lesson…"

Saika lifted his finger silently. Hiro looked around; there was nothing interesting or different about their surroundings, and he couldn't make out what he had stopped for. He circled around to look into Saika's eyes. He was staring straight ahead with his mouth open, as if looking at an incoming army on the verge of a surprise attack.

"What? What are you staring at!" Hiro was almost at screaming level, but Saika pointed straight ahead.

A small group of military men surrounded a single woman dressed in a flowing, red kimono seemingly made of the finest silk in the world; it gave off the shine of a thousand suns. Her hair was long and brown, and decorated with flowers that made a crown around her head. They came closer, but Saika just stood as still as if her eyes had turned him into stone. 'Oh no, not another woman lesson,' Hiro thought.

"Saika, this is enough! I promise I'll never ask this way again, but I demand some training time."

There was no response. He grunted in frustration.

"Besides, she is untouchable. Do you understand? You'll never get close enough to those guards to even smell her perfume!"

Oh, but they could smell her perfume. She was moments away from walking straight past the two, and they can already smell the lavender oil and the rose petals that made her crown. The closer she walked, the more hazy the air became. Her scent, her beauty, her very being made the air around her seemed to render any man drunk with love. The people around her smiled and waved; the children called out to her, wanting her to reach out and touch them; there were even people handing over gifts to her guards. She just smiled gently and took it all in stride. She passed by the wide-eyed Saika and Hiro and nodded her head at both of them, in the same graceful manner that she greeted everyone that she passed. The boys turned their heads without breaking their gaze. The sight of her was just so magnetic.

"Who... is that woman?" Saika asked.

"That's Princess Ina. She's the daughter of the Chief of the Military, Tadakatsu Honda," Hiro explained.

"Ina..." Saika whispered. Hiro shook his head back into focus.

"Yes, but she's way above our league. You'll be lucky if you get a formal introduction."

Saika kept staring; Hiro punched him in the arm.

"Lord Maigoichi!"

No response.

"Hey, look, you'll never even get close to her. She's always too heavily guarded, and when she isn't that Tadakatsu is just waiting to cut the throat off of anyone who is looking upon her with lust. You don't stand a chance!"

Saika slowly drew his head towards the young boy and grabbed him by the collar of his vest.

"Mark my words, Hiro Nagasaki. I will have that woman."


	3. A Destined Encounter

The musket fired on the target for the last time that evening. It was late, and Hiro's eyes were running away from the target as if begging him for a long-awaited break. If this was a battle, however, how would he feel if he had been shooting targets for days on end?

"You're still not aiming right and your stance is weakening. How do you expect to hit anything with your elbow so high? Do it again," Saika yelled from a distance, lazily sitting on the ground with his arms propped up on his knees, rubbing his face as if exasperated.

"Ugh, I'm just so tired. You said that was going to be the last shot!"

"No, I said, 'if this were your last shot, you better make it count.' Well, you didn't make that one count, so try again."

Hiro sighed, turned to the target, and closed his eyes. It took quite a bit of concentration, but soon, he could feel his breath running through his veins and heart. He felt the warmth of the sun on his body, seeping through his skin and through his muscles, making them relax as if in a sauna. The sweat on his brow fell on his cheek, cooling his face and quenching the open pores. His stance fell right into place.

"Well, shoot the darn thing already!"

Hiro opened his eyes, target immediately in sight, and fired. There was no painful recoil this time, just smoke clearing in the distance to reveal a perfectly round dot in the middle of the bull's-eye of the target. Saika jumped up from where he was sitting and laughed.

"Yes! That's it! You've found your sweet spot!"

Hiro blinked a few times. He couldn't believe that he had shot such a magnificently straight bullet for the first time in his whole life. Neither had he seen Saika so excited about anything besides women. He smiled, laughed out loud, dropped his weapon on the ground, and plopped right down on his knees beside it. He lapped up every drop of this moment, thinking that he was finally getting somewhere, but his delight was interrupted by several footsteps heading their way. It was already late in the day, so neither of them could think of a reason why there should be anyone else in the outskirts of town. He picked up his weapon and ran toward Saika. If anyone should be out here now, if would be to cause trouble. The footsteps grew closer and closer until the first of the cavalry could be seen where they were standing. Two men in armor appeared from the height of the growing grass. Surprised to see them, the men drew up their bows and arrows at Saika and Hiro and yelled a command at the others. Instantly, a row of men appeared beside them, also armed with bows and arrows ready for defense. Saika and Hiro lowered their muskets and raised their hands in the air. Whatever they were doing wrong, they were caught for it and it was not looking so good.

"What business do you have here?" one of the armed men asked.

"We don't want any trouble. I'm just training him in musket practice, that's all," Saika said in a calm, low voice. "This kid is going to be a warrior for Tokugawa."

"Oh? The trials have yet to begin..."

This voice was different. It was a woman's voice, very strong and sensual. Footsteps were approaching, and out from behind the armed men came a young woman adorned in decorated mail with her hair tied back and thin fly-a-ways framing her delicate face. It was Princess Ina. Both men were in shock.

"You sound skeptical," Saika replied just as calm as when talking to the armed men. Ina turned to the men and raised her hand. The men became as ease and lowered their weapons.

"Well, yes," Ina said. "Often, we receive the best in all the land which makes it hard to choose which to allow into the army. You seem very confident in your pupil. Perhaps my arrival was destined to tame your ego," she spoke very gracefully. Saika was trembling now, but never let his nerves overtake his appearance.

"As a matter of fact, I believe he is the very best in all the land. He just shot that bullet right there, moments before you arrived."

Ina spoke something to the men and they sat down, chuckling with each other as they did. She walked toward the two men.

"Really?" she asked, walking up to Hiro's musket and picking it up. She handed it over to him. "Do it again," she demanded. Both Saika and Hiro gulped. Ina walked a few steps ahead, closer to the target in an attempt to monitor his shot. Hiro looked hopelessly at Saika who read his message loud and clear.

"Look, Hiro. You just have to do exactly what you just did when we were alone and you'll be fine." He pulled Hiro closer by his collar. "Just don't embarrass me, ok kid?" He let him go and dusted off Hiro's collar with a big smile geared towards Ina. She seemed to be unaffected by the whole gesture. Saika walked off closer to where Ina was standing, appearing to accomplish the same task and looked on intently. Hiro positioned himself to fire and closed his eyes again. This time, his heart was beating so loud that he couldn't possibly feel the sun on his skin, or the blood running through his veins, but he could feel sweat pouring down his cheek in heavy and constant droplets. His finger leaned on the trigger, but he was trembling so much that the gun was moving ever so slightly out of position that he would never be able to keep it steady. He shook his head and took a deep breath, relaxed his muscles, leaned on the trigger, just about to pull it all the way.

"Hey, kid! Shoot already!"

The shout had startled him so much that before he knew it, he had the gun up in the air; trigger pulled, and had shot an innocent bird right in the heart. Just as it dropped to the ground, Ina pulled back her arrow and shot the bird so it hit the bull's-eye right on top of the bullet he shot earlier. There was shock. Then silence. Ina brushed the hair from her brow.

"Well, young man, your skills are most impressive. I wouldn't have imagined that you were aiming for the bird instead!" she said with a laugh. The men both looked at each other, still in shock. "What fun! I look forward to seeing you at the trials bright and early tomorrow morning."

Hiro snapped out of the shock.

"Tomorrow morning? My Lady, I wasn't planning on attending the trials this month."

Saika laughed. "The poor boy just doesn't want to leave home so soon! Don't worry; he's just a bit nervous. We'll be seeing you at the trials tomorrow."

Hiro walked over to Saika with a big smile on his face. "Maigoichi!" He whispered. His face was now stern. "I thought we weren't going to be finished with the training until..."

"Oh, don't worry, my boy!" Saika yelled out loud. "You'll have plenty of time to visit your family once you become the greatest warrior in Mikawa history!"

Ina's eyes perked.

"No! I'm not ready! That shot was just lucky!" Hiro quietly protested. Ina walked over to the arguing boys.

"If you truly are a great warrior, then you must come! I have been worried about my people and my father. It seems tensions are thickening between the states, and I need strong men to make sure my people are safe. If you have the courage to come, then please do. I welcome you!" She took Hiro's hand in hers. "You are young in mind and body. Your family will be very proud to see what you can become. Trust me."

Hiro backed down. Her eyes were so sincere and compelling. Who could say 'no' to that lovely face? Hiro gulped. "I..." His voice broke. "I will not let you down Princess."

She nodded and walked out to her guards.

She turned and called, "then I will look for you both there! Farewell, warriors!" and walked away with the armed men towards the town.

Saika walked ahead, following Ina. "Don't worry, kid. You'll be fine. You've got some hidden talent in you."

Hiro grabbed Saika by the back of his shirt and stopped him. "You idiot! Why would you put me in that position? Now I'm going to look like a fool in front of everyone! I'll never become a warrior now!"

Saika pushed him away. "Hey, knock it off! We'll think of something. You got it in you; you just have to learn to harness it consistently. Besides, you've got plenty of time. They usually start with some meaningless examinations anyway, which will give you time to get your act together. The point is, Princess Ina is waiting for us in the morning. She's got her eye on us, kid! Would you want to let her down?"

Hiro was now furious. "Is this what this is all about? You and your filthy obsession with women? Well, what about me? Your duty is to help me become fit to become a warrior! All you care about is yourself!"

Hiro began walking away from the city. He was through with Saika, with becoming a warrior, with everything, and nothing was going to stop him.

"Fine! Be selfish! See if I care!" Saika shouted after him.

Hiro walked on, and then heard footsteps near him. 'Following me? Ha, he's going to have to beat me into submission to get me to go back,' he thought. He looked back, but his teacher was nowhere in sight. He stopped. 'Maybe he's trying to scare me, or play a trick,' he thought. "Alright, Maigoichi! I know you're there. It's not funny. I'm really leaving!" But the crackling of the grass on the ground kept getting louder. It seemed that there were more than two feet walking about. "Maigoichi?" He called again. There was no response. Suddenly, a brush nearby wiggled and several footsteps went running back behind him, away from the city. He looked toward their direction and saw three soldiers dressed in different colors run away. Then, he heard a gunshot. It was Saika's musket; he could recognize the sound from anywhere. Saika caught up to him.

"Did you see the symbol on their backs?" He asked.

"No," Hiro responded. "But they had different regional colors on them. I'm not familiar with them."

"I've seen those colors in battle before. They belong to the Takeda army. They must be spies," Saika explained.

"It's a good thing we chased them out of here," Hiro began and looked at Saika as if to elicit a response, but they both looked at each other knowing what the other was thinking. It was a daunting thought, but he knew what had to be said. "The trials are tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah."

"I guess... maybe I am ready to take the challenge."

They looked off at the running enemy spies.

"Yeah."


End file.
